A primer on the impact of national

cultures on employee engagement

Engagement in the global economy

February 4, 2016

Louis Pike, Ph.D.

L1pike@ryerson.ca

416-236-0118 1

Can we use our North American theories,

beliefs and perceptions to accurately

describe and assess the engagement of

employees from diverse cultures?

LOST IN TRANSATION?

2

GOAL

A nomenclature

Describe and predict

Impact of culture on

engagement

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AGENDA

1. What’s ‘engagement’?

2. Video & Diagnosis: “A World of Difference”

3. A nomenclature: how to describe and

compare national cultures

Application exercises

4. Seeds for thought: are North American

theories universally applicable? 4

•Motivated •Satisfied •Committed

ENGAGEMENT UNPACKED

5

Purposeful

Intense

Persistence

MOTIVATION

•Emotional and rational effort toward goals.

•High absorption in the work.

•High self-efficacy.

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Job Satisfaction

Do you like the work

and the workplace? 7

8

Commitment

1. Normative commitment: A sense

of loyalty or obligation

2. Continuance commitment:

Staying because it’s too costly to quit

3. Affective commitment: Emotional

attachment to, identification with, and

involvement in an organization 9

MOHAMMAD

Egyptian

JACK

Chinese

ALBERTO

Italian JESSIE

American

GAVIN

English

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EVA

German

WHAT IS A CULTURE?

Edgar Schein: social

psychologist who pioneered

the use of concepts from

cultural anthropology to

understand organizations

“A set of basic assumptions – shared solutions to

universal problems of external adaptation (how

to survive) and internal integration (how to stay

together) – which have evolved over time and are

handed down from one generation to the next.” (Schein, 2004: 14)

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ARTIFACTS

ESPOUSED VALUES

ASSUMPTIONS

Schein’s Three Levels of Culture

Visible organizational structure and

processes (hard to decipher)

Strategies, goals, philosophies, (espoused

values), norms

Unconscious, taken-for-granted beliefs

about the world.

Perceptions, thoughts and feelings (the

root of values and action)

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1. Power Distance

2. Uncertainty Avoidance

3. Individual/Collective

4. Achieve/Nurture

5. Universal/Particular

6. Achieved/Ascribed

7. Inner/Outer directed

8. Specific/Diffuse

TODN NOMENCLATURE

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Hofstede’s Model (1980)

IBM Employees in 70 countries

116,000 questionnaires

Values and opinions

Cultural dimensions:“central

tendencies” within a culture

Geert Hofstede

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Power Distance (Low – High)

The degree of inequality among people that a culture considers normal.

High-ranking countries: Russia, Spain, Thailand.

Tall, centralized structures with a hierarchical management approach. Conflicts are resolved by going through specific levels of formal authority.

Low-ranking countries: Netherlands, Denmark, Israel. Value group inputs to decisions and expect their decisions to be challenged and discussed by employees. Flatter structures, smaller span of control.

15

Uncertainty Avoidance (Low - High)

The degree to which people in a country prefer structured over unstructured situations.

High scored countries: Germany, Denmark, and Switzerland, demonstrate a strong tendency toward applying a consistent set of rules and laws to manage situations.

Low scored countries: Russia, Greece, and Venezuela, are more tolerant of ambiguity and not so structured in their approach.

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Individualism vs.

Collectivism

The degree to which individuals are expected to be part of a group in their organization or in their society.

High-ranking countries: Denmark, Singapore, Japan, Sweden expect individuals to participate in group activities.

Low-ranking countries: Greece, Italy, Argentina value individualism and personal contribution to task accomplishment.

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Achievement/Nurturing (Previously called Masculine/Feminine)

Whether a culture expresses attitudes typically associated with ‘Achieving’ or ‘Nurturing’ determines whether it views gender roles as different.

High scored countries: Egypt, India, and Turkey give men higher social status than women

Low scored countries: Canada, Denmark, Hungary, Poland; women get a higher status in society, play a stronger role in decision making, and they tend to hold positions of power and authority.

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+

Live to work?

Work to live?

Being vs. Doing Cultures Kluckholn & Strodtbeck

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CANADA and USA

DIMENSION CANADA USA

POWER DISTANCE 39 40

UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE 48 46

ACHIEVEMENT(Masculine)

NURTURING (Feminine) 52 62

INDIVIDUALISM vs. COLLECTIVISM 80 91

http://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html 20

Over a 14 year period, data collected from over 46,000 managers

representing more than 40 national cultures

TROMPENAARS’

FRAMEWORK Fons Trompenaars

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Trompenaars’ Dimensions of Culture

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1. Universalism vs. Particularism

2. Status is Achieved vs. Ascribed

3. Specific vs. Diffuse

4. Inner vs. Outer Directed

Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions:

Specific vs. Diffuse

Specific: large public space shared with others

and small private space guarded closely.

Open, extroverted; strong separation work and personal life

(e.g., Austria, U.K., U.S.)

We stay “in role”. E.g. I don’t tell you about my relationship with my

wife. You’d feel uncomfortable.

Diffuse: public and private spaces similar size, public space guarded because shared with private space; people indirect and introverted, work/private life closely linked (e.g., Venezuela, China, Spain)

Losing face: is making public what is considered private 23

Universalism – Particularism Relationships and Rules

UNIVERSALISM

Ideas and practices can and

should be applied everywhere

in the world without

modification.

Reliance on ‘objective’ laws,

rules, contracts.

PARTICULARISM

Circumstances and special

relationships should be

factored into how ideas

practices, agreements are

applied.

Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions

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How one gains social status and privilege.

Is it what you’ve done or who you are?

Achievement vs. Ascription

Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions

Trompenaars: The Environment

Inner-directed: people believe in control of outcomes U.S., Switzerland, Canada, Japan

Outer-directed: people believe in letting things take own course China and many Asian and Middle

Eastern countries

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Fundamental

Attribution Error

The assumption that

someone’s behaviour is caused

by something inside them

rather than an external

factor.

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E.g.

personality,

personal

values

E.g.

cultural

norms

ACHEIVEMENT MOTIVATION THEORY McClelland’s Learned Needs Theory

Need for Achievement

Concern for establishing and maintaining high levels of performance quality.

Aren’t great managers or team players

Like immediate concrete feedback.

Want to take personal responsibility for finding solutions to problems

They tend to be moderate risk-takers rather than high or low risk-takers

Need for Power

Concern for reputation, responsibility, influence, impact, and control over others

Above average attendance.

Need for Affiliation

Concern for establishing and maintaining social relationships.

Prefer to cooperate vs. compete

American psychologist

David McClelland

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Selected Countries on the Uncertainty-

Avoidance and Masculinity Scales

Saudi Arabia

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High scores on

McClelland’s

N(ach) Hofstede, 1980

Physiological

Safety & Security

Belongingness

Esteem

SA

30

Needs

hierarchy in

collectivist

cultures

31

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Outcomes of Equity Theory Comparisons

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Individualistic & Collectivistic

Approaches to Equity

Western Individualistic Cultures Eastern Collectivistic Cultures

INPUTS

Effort Intelligence Education Skills Social status

OUTPUTS

Pay Autonomy Seniority Benefits Job Status

INPUTS

Loyalty Support Respect Tenure Status

OUTPUTS

Harmony Social status Acceptance Solidarity Cohesion

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In what kind of culture would this practice work well?

GOAL SETTING

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Engagement and Work Centrality

Work centrality: The

importance of work in an

individual’s life relative to

other areas of interest.

36

Variations in Work Centrality

Japan: highest level

Israel: moderately high

U.S. and Belgium: average

Holland and Germany:

moderately low

Britain has low levels

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Employees are more likely to be engaged if they can

understand and identify with the organization’s

mission, goals and style.

Engagement and Organizational

Comprehension

38

Non-Western Structures

What cultural dimensions would

be in/compatible with these

structures?

39

What cultural dimensions would be in/compatible

with these structures?

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Leader-Subordinate Interactions

JACK

GAVIN

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DOES ‘TEAM’

TRANSLATE?

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1. To spread information and discuss problems?

2. To make decisions and take action?

3. To create social relations?

4. None of the above?

Cultures have different assumptions

about the purpose of teams

JACK

GAVIN

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Cultural Factors:

The Forming

Stage Americans, Germans and Swiss (and probably Canadians)

typically spend relatively little time getting to know each other. They find out the nature of the task of set about pursuing it on their own without first building trust and cohesion.

Latin American, Southern European and Middle Eastern members spend a great deal of initial time getting to know each other.

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“Planned Change in Organizations:

The Influence of National Culture”

“The subject of organizational change simply does not seem to generate

as much attention outside the Anglo and Nordic countries and outside

the English language literature. Implicit in much of the literature on

organizational change that we studied is the idea that change is good,

resistance to change is bad, and that the best way to implement change

is by participation.”

Harzing, A. and Hofstede, G. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Vol. 14, pp. 297-340, 1996.

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OD APPLICATIONS

1. International leadership

development program

2. Mergers and acquisitions

3. Team facilitator training

4. Cross-cultural consulting

5. Performance management

6. Diversity in organizations

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USEFUL LINKS WEB SITES

Geert Hofstede: The Hofstede Centre: http://geert-hofstede.com/

Alfons (Fons) Trompenaars: Trompenaars Hampden-Turner:

http://www2.thtconsulting.com/about/people/fons-trompenaars/

Centre for Intercultural Learning (Foreign Affairs and International Trade – Canada):

www.intercultures.gc.ca

ARTICLES

Cultural Intelligence, Earley, P. C. And Mosakowsky, E., Harvard Business Review; Oct. 2004, Vol. 82

Issue 10, p139-146, 8p

Values in Tension: Ethics Away from Home, Donaldson, Thomas, Harvard Business Review;

Sep/Oct96, Vol. 74 Issue 5, p. 48-62, 10p

Organizational consulting in international contexts: An integrative perspective.

Author: Fulkerson, John R.; Fulkerson Consulting, LLC, New Canaan, CT, US

johnfulkerson@earthlink.net

Measuring the Benefits of Employee Engagement, Kumar, V; Pansari, Anita. MIT Sloan Management

Review 56.4 (Summer 2015): 67-72

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